Who was Anas Al Sharif, the ‘voice of Gaza' killed by Israel?
'Keep going Anas, you are our voice,' one bystander could be heard telling the journalist. Now the 'voice of Gaza' has been silenced forever.
The prominent correspondent was killed on Sunday night in an Israeli air strike attacking a tent housing the Al Jazeera crew near Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza city. The network's correspondent Mohammed Qreiqeh and camera operators Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal and Moamen Aliwa were also killed in the attack, as well as two other people.
In a statement, Al Jazeera condemned the killings as 'yet another blatant and premeditated attack on press freedom', calling Mr Al Sharif, 28, 'one of Gaza's bravest journalists'. The network said the attack was a 'desperate attempt to silence voices in anticipation of the occupation of Gaza'.
Mr Al Sharif's fearless frontline coverage for Al Jazeera Arabic made him one of the most recognised and followed reporters in Gaza. He was described as the 'voice of Gaza' by the media network.
The journalist and videographer was born and raised in Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, which had come under intense Israeli attacks since October 2023.
Mr Al Sharif graduated from the media faculty at Al Aqsa University in Gaza city with a degree in mass communication, specialising in radio and television.
Throughout his career, he received the Best Young Journalist Award in Palestine in 2018 for his reporting on Gaza. Last year, he was awarded Amnesty International Australia's Human Rights Defender Award to 'honour his extraordinary resilience, bravery, and commitment to press freedom while working in the most dangerous conditions'.
Mr Al Sharif leaves behind a wife and two children, whom he barely saw throughout his coverage during the war. His father was killed by an Israeli strike on their family home in Jabalia in December 2023.
Last month, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) raised concerns about Al Sharif's safety.
'We are deeply alarmed by the repeated threats made by Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee against Al Jazeera's Gaza correspondent Anas Al-Sharif and call on the international community to protect him,' said CPJ regional director Sara Qudah. 'This is not the first time Al Sharif has been targeted by the Israeli military, but the danger to his life is now acute.'
In a statement admitting to the deliberate killing of the journalists, Israel's military accused Mr Al Sharif of being affiliated with Hamas. Israel had increased accusations and threats against him since the journalist cried on air while reporting on starvation in Gaza, said CPJ.
Al Jazeera, CPJ and rights groups have all dismissed Israel's claims as unfounded.
Media workers in Gaza have been working relentlessly under dire conditions. A statement by Amnesty International said journalists in Gaza 'endure relentless bombardment, displacement, and the use of starvation as a weapon of war' to report from the war-torn strip, where international journalists are banned from entry.
Despite threats to his life, Mr Al Sharif said he would continue to report from the north, which has been under Israeli siege for months.
Moments before his death, Mr Al Sharif shared a video to X, where loud Israeli bombing can be heard in the background. 'Non stop bombing … For the past two hours, Israeli aggression on Gaza city has intensified,' he wrote on the social media platform.
His death was confirmed in a statement posted to his social media platforms as his 'will and final message' to the world.
'If you're reading these words, know that Israel has succeeded in killing me and silencing my voice,' read Mr Al Sharif's statement.
'I have lived through pain in all its details, tasted suffering and loss many times, yet I never once hesitated to convey the truth as it is, without distortion or falsification, so Allah may bear witness against those who stayed silent, those who accepted our killing, those who choked our breath, and whose hearts were unmoved by the scattered remains of our children and women, doing nothing to stop the massacre that our people have faced for more than a year and a half,' he continued.
'I entrust you with Palestine … its people … its oppressed children … the apple of my eye, my daughter … my dear son … my beloved mother … my lifelong partner, my wife … I urge you to be their support … and don't forget about Gaza,' he wrote in the haunting message.
Al Jazeera said Mr Al Sharif and his colleagues were among the 'last remaining voices in Gaza conveying the tragic reality to the world'. On Monday, hundreds of mourners gathered to bid farewell to the reporters. Their bodies were taken from Al Shifa Hospital to their houses and then to Sheikh Radwan cemetery in Gaza city for their burial.
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